Hero
by That Aerin
Summary: Voldemort is finally vanquished from the wizarding world, but vanishes with Harry Potter. Days later, Ginny Weasley also disappears. Some say suicide. But twelve years later, a green eyed boy named David attends Hogwarts and faces his unknown destiny. CH2
1. Prologue: Winds of Change

**Disclaimer:**Any characters and places you recognize are the work of JKR. This was written prior to Order of the Phoenix and all names, events, and perspective will stay the way I intended.

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**Hero** by That Aerin

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_Summary:_ Voldemort is finally vanquished from the wizarding world, but vanishes along with Harry Potter. Two days later, Ginny Weasley disappears. Some say it was suicide, but many believe that she went in search for her true love, denying his death. Twelve years later, a green-eyed boy named David Rivers finds his place at Hogwarts, to face his unknown destiny.

_"True, I talk of dreams;_

_Which are the children of an idle brain,_

_Begot of nothing but vain fantasy;_

_Which is as thin of substance as the air,_

_And more inconstant than the wind."_

–Mercutio, Shakespeare: _Romeo and Juliet  
_

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**Prologue: Winds of Change**

_"Don't do it," Ginny whispered to Harry._

_"I have to," he whispered back, "It's the only way I can destroy Voldemort."_

_Ginny flinched at the name and Harry put his arms around her soothingly. "Promise me you'll come back," she said fiercely._

_"I promise," Harry said sincerely, his green eyes glowing with affection._

_Ginny leaned in closer, wondering if now was a good time._ Better now than never, _she thought._ I might never see him again…_she abruptly stopped this train of thought. He would come back._

_"Harry, I'm pregnant," Ginny whispered. She watched as those green eyes she loved so much went round in shock, then back to the glowing love she had felt earlier. He hugged her tightly and kissed her gently on the lips. Ginny sighed with relief. "What do we do?" she wondered._

_Harry looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean? You're going to have the baby, right?"_

_"Of course," said Ginny reassuringly. She could never give up a part of Harry willingly. "But…with the war and everything, we can't get married…"_

_"Ginny, I won't put you in danger by publicly announcing you as my wife. That would automatically make you a target—and the baby too."_

_Ginny sighed. This was what she had been afraid of. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "Is this it then? Am I just your little secret?"_

_"No," said Harry, taking her hands in his. "I love you, and eventually the whole wizarding world will know that. I'll come back and we'll get married when the war is over. I promise you that. You wear the engagement ring my dad gave my mum. As far as I know, we're already married. In our hearts."_

_He looked so sincere that Ginny couldn't help but believe him. "When you'll come back," she said, smiling through her tears, twisting the small golden band on her finger._

_Harry smiled back and took the ring and slid it on her ring finger as Ginny watched, her mouth dropping open. "I promise," he said._

Ginny jolted awake, the hard metal chair jarring her shoulder uncomfortably. Tears filled her eyes as she held onto the dream, wishing Harry could hold her now. She was on a train headed for an unknown destination. She had no money and a son to take care of.

Ginny looked down in her arms and rocked the bundle gently. His son looked remarkably like Harry already, with a tuft of black hair and curious green eyes. Right now those eyes were closed, and he was fast asleep. "David Potter," she whispered his name to him softly. "You remember who you are, because nobody else will ever know." David woke up suddenly, and Harry's eyes greeted her. Ginny sighed. "I'm sorry, but you're too obvious," she said, bouncing him on her knee. He smiled a baby smile and put his fingers in his mouth. Ginny surreptitiously took out her wand and made sure none of the Muggles on the train were watching. Two of the occupants were asleep, and one was hidden behind a large newspaper. _"Fulvis Lux,"_ she whispered gently. David's eyes turned from green to a soft brown, not unlike Ginny's own eyes.

Ginny put her wand away and wiped away a stray tear. Harry's words from the dream echoed in her mind. He promised he would come back. He never did.

Ginny sank back into the uncomfortable chair, remembering the funeral that took place nearly a year ago. A year ago, when Harry promised her he would come back. But he didn't. He took on Voldemort the next day, using the ancient spell he had found.

Harry found him at Hogwarts, and arrived just in time to see Voldemort kill Dumbledore.

Ginny remembered the scene clearly as if was yesterday.

* * *

She worked at Hogwarts, an assistant to Madam Pompfrey. The Great Hall had withstood their duel that with every _Avada Kedavra_ made Ginny's heart leap. And every time Harry avoided it, he met her eyes, as if to confirm that he wasn't going to die. The last moment their eyes had locked, Harry nodded. He was going to use the spell.

It was an ancient one he had found and was so sure it was going to work. Unlike the Killing Curse, it banished the person completely out of the world, never to return. A blast of grey smoke furled around them as the two held their wands to each other. The wands shot out light that sizzled and cracked the Great Hall.

When the smoke cleared, all that was left on the table were two wands.

One belonged to Voldemort.

The other belonged to Harry.

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The world had rejoiced at Voldemort's downfall, and then mourned Harry's death. The two wands were sent back to Ollivanders. Ginny had slipped into Gringotts after the funeral, exchanging all of the money in her account for Muggle money. She knew that the Death Eaters were still active and looking for revenge for their master's defeat. And if anybody knew that the Potter line lived on…

"They won't," said Ginny firmly. _Ginny Weasley is __**gone**__. My name is Margaret Rivers and this is my son, David Rivers. We are Muggles on a train going somewhere, just like all of the rest of these Muggles. I am going to get on with my life and raise my son as a Muggle. I will protect my son. Harry's son._

_Good thing I took Muggle Studies._


	2. Chapter One: September Beginnings

**Disclaimer: ** Harry Potter and etcetera belongs to J.K. Rowling. No copyright infringement intended.

**Hero** by Aerin

_Summary:_ Voldemort is finally vanquished from the wizarding world, but vanishes along with Harry Potter. Two days later, Ginny Weasley disappears. Some say it was suicide, but many believe that she went in search for her true love, denying his death. Twelve years later, a green-eyed boy named David Rivers finds his place at Hogwarts, to face his unknown destiny.

_Author's Note:_ Sorry that it took me a year and rereading reviews that I should continue this. This beginning was written a long time before HBP was released, and I had very early on decided it would be an AU. Dumbledore's death was a coincidence. ;;

"_Here comes the rain again  
Falling from the stars  
Drenched in my pain again  
Becoming who we are_

_As my memory rests  
But never forgets what I lost  
Wake me up when September ends"_

—Green Day, Wake Me Up When September Ends

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**Chapter One: September Beginnings**

"Stay here, okay? Promise me you won't go _anywhere._"

David smiled at her, holding up a plastic plane. "I won't go anywhere."

Mum sighed, giving him that look she had when she didn't believe him.

"Please, Mum? We don't have any toys at home and I really want to just play." David looked at his feet sadly. "Bob and Larry always take the best toys to play with at school and then they push me and I can't play with anything good."

His mother sighed and hugged him tightly. "All right. Just don't go anywhere, and I'll come back at later so we can eat lunch, okay?" Mum smiled at him, holding up a brown paper bag. "I brought peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

David tried to smile. They had peanut butter and jelly yesterday too. "Bye, Mum."

"I'll see you at twelve-thirty," she said, kissing him on the forehead.

David pulled away, embarrassed. There were other kids around here! "Mum!" he whispered.

"Oh, all right, I'm leaving. You have fun. I'll see you later," she said, and walked out of the toy store and into the supermarket next door.

David went back to his plane, making it fly in the air with little "wheeeeeewww" noises that a plane should make. Of course, David had never heard a plane, but it was what he thought a plane should sound like.

A large family walked by the toyshop window. Funnily enough, they all had really bright red hair, except for what looked like the mum, who had rather bushy brown hair. She was carrying a baby and following her, talking excitedly were a boy and a girl who looked like David's age. The father walked behind them, bouncing a young boy on his shoulders and laughing.

David watched them wistfully. More often than not he wished he had a little brother or sister to play with, or even to talk to. Then he wouldn't be so lonely.

But what he wanted most was a dad. David went back to his plane, trying not to think about the redheaded boy and his father. He'd stopped asking about his father years ago. Mum never told him anything and it always seemed to make her upset, so David didn't ask anymore.

"It's just you and me," Mum always said. They had no relatives and not a lot of money, but they had each other. Which, David thought, was really good, because he couldn't imagine life without his mother.

But sometimes he really wanted someone his own age to talk to or play with.

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Ginny Weasley adjusted her nametag, holding back a chuckle at the name it read. Margaret. She had no idea, really, why that was the name she picked. Partly because it reminded her of someone's sweet granny knitting. A sudden crackle of static of the grocery store loudspeaker rattled her out of her reverie and Ginny blinked, remembering her place.

It was a decent job, really, she thought as she absentmindedly scanned each item through the checkout. The only problem at working at this All-Mart was the horrible hours she had to keep. On weekends, no less! Finding a sitter for David was proving near impossible, especially since he began showing signs of magic. It had been getting more difficult to find a new sitter after erasing the memory of the last until finally Ginny had practically _Obliviated_ the entire town's jobless teenage girls. Consecutively.

At her wits end, Ginny, after having a quick chat with Tina, manager of the toyshop next door, had been reassured that she would keep an eye on David.

Ginny scanned the last item and smiled wearily at the woman as she paid for the groceries. The past seven years had been chaotic. They had moved every few months, Ginny picking up odd, random jobs, never staying long enough for David to make any friends or settle anywhere.

It was a slow morning. Ginny's gaze trailed past the window, watching people and automobiles pass by. A redheaded man with a toddler boy on his shoulders, the son's hands playfully tangled in his father's hair. A pang of longing shot through her heart. The man laughed, and Ginny smiled. He reminded her of Ron. Older, certainly, but the hair was the same, and the warmth of his smile was so reassuring that Ginny could almost believe that this _was…_

Ginny froze.

The man walked into the store, and time seemed to slow as he and his son strode past the counter.

Ginny felt her heart still as he walked past her and she caught a full view of his familiar face before he disappeared into the aisles of colorful food-like products.

_It couldn't possibly be…_

_

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_

The bell hanging over the toyshop door tinkled merrily.

"David, why don't you bring that over here," Tina said, gently nudging David and his claimed plane behind the counter and out of sight. Peeking out from the side he noticed it was the red-haired boy and girl he had seen earlier with their mum and the baby.

"I'm looking for some educational games," the mum said to Tina over the counter. The boy, noticing David, grinned at him and put a finger to his lips. He then whispered conspiratorially, "Do you know where the hairpins are?"

David was delighted at being part of whatever secret this was, yet was sufficiently boggled. Hairpins?

The boy's sister, David guessed, since they looked so much alike from the freckles to the hair, laughed at him. "Not hairpins, silly. Airpins."

The brother nodded enthusiastically. "Grandpa told us they were Mu— er…toys that go—" and here he made a familiar "whewww" sound.

David looked up at the two adults who looked deeply absorbed in their conversation. He didn't understand any of it, especially when they started arguing about "development" and "cognitive functions," whatever those were.

The boy grinned at him and motioned for him to come over. David slipped in front of the counter with a satisfied grin.

When they were back in the airplane aisle David had been earlier, the two redheads gazed at the toys with awe that David could understand only too well. The girl began looking at each one carefully, trying to read the labels.

The boy laughed grabbing two planes off the display. "I'm Will, and that's my sister Lizzie," he said, grinning and handing one of them to David. Bill began flying the plane around erratically.

"I'm David," David said shyly.

"Niceta meet you," Lizzie said, building a "wall" of blocks which Bill promptly crashed down with his plane. She shrieked and tried to rebuild it.

"Let's be friends!" Bill announced happily. "Come on, we must smash the never-ending wall!"

David, surprised with his luck, cheerfully joined the game.

A/N: Well, there you go, chapter two. I am reviving this story, so I will update fairly regularily. You can expect the new chapter in the next couple of weeks. It will move quickly from now on, and in the next chapter I'm hoping to finish this "interlude" when he's seven and we'll very quickly move to A Very Mysterious Letter. Cha.

I have got some flak about this, but not much, but I would think it might help to clarify. Harry, Ginny, and co. are a few years graduated out of Hogwarts in the previous chapter in a serious relationship but not publicly acknowledged as a couple. At the time of the "defeat" of Voldemort, Ron and Hermione are married. Hence David is the same age as the oldest of the R/H kids. In this chapter the kids are seven.

Reviews would be spiffy.


	3. Chapter Two: Home and Town

**Hero: Chapter Two: Home and Town**

A/N: Sorry for the hiatus. Life, it happens. For my dark wanderer, numbered 86.

_"Feel it coming in the air"_ – Rihanna, Run This Town

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Ginny's heart pounded in her chest. It wasn't possible. It simply wasn't. She was in a far, remote town, not even in Britain. Not even in the United Kingdom. It wasn't possible that-

"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!" Hermione roared.

Oh dear. It was possible.

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David grinned. This was the most fun he had ever had. He had had friends who were boys (and girls) but they always seemed to not like him anymore for some reason at some point in time. These guys though…this seemed real.

"Will!" shrieked Lizzie. She had a very fun shriek. David didn't know the word, but she was very… her laugh made him smile.

Will was still destroying her wall. "Take that, red blocks! Shablam!"

The red block levitated in the air.

David gasped. This had happened before with him and another boy. The boy ran away and David had lost another friend.

Will laughed. "Is that you, Lizzie? Or me?"

Lizzie frowned. "Mum says we're not supposed to…" she started.

David got up quickly. "I'm, er…sorry?" he stammered.

Will laughed again. It was a great sound. "Oh see, its okay, he's not a Muggle."

Lizzie's face didn't change. "You don't know that for sure. And Mum said…"

Will got up as well and grinned at David. "You're not a Muggle, are you?"

David had no idea what a Muggle was. But he had certainly heard Mum say it under her breath sometimes, so it must be a bad thing. He was definitely not a bad thing. "Nope," he said confidently.

Lizzie relaxed. "Oh, okay then." She smiled prettily at him and handed him the blocks. "Will you be on my team then?" she asked in a sweet voice.

David was overcome with emotion. He felt like the situation had just popped like a balloon and now his worries were gone. He still had friends.

"Are you my friends?" he asked.

"Yes," said Will strongly and he grabbed David's hands and shook them heartily. "Yes."


End file.
